Little Badger Reviews: Horror Anthologies #1

During this blog series, I will review ONE personal favorite story from each anthology (without spoilers)!

Why don’t I dish on the bad stuff instead? Good question! Yes, I’ve read my share of less-than-stellar stuff: stories populated by insulting stereotypes, eye-rollable twists, plot holes large enough to swallow a whale. It would be easy to fill my blog with negative critiques. However, I’d much rather help people find great reads! This series will focus on the positive by celebrating phenomenal writers and editors.

That said, today I’m going to discuss one of my favorite recent anthologies, Hauntings (2013, edited by Ellen Datlow). The cover has a bird person on it. Does it get better than that? I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, which contains works from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. As the title suggests, a haunting atmosphere thematically links the 24 dark fantasy/horror stories, yet they’re a refreshingly diverse group, offering different literary structures, voices, and fiends. I highly, highly, highly recommend this anthology to any fan of weird, beautifully written dark fiction. Ellen Datlow yet again shines!

It was difficult to choose a favorite story from Hauntings. Too difficult! So, in review #1, I will break the rules (already X-X) and discuss a piece that made me think more than the others.

“Two Houses” by Kelly Link

It’s weird. It’s unsettling. It masterfully fuses two genres, science fiction and fantasy. It’s a mystery that encourages readers to question everything with each new revelation.

From the moment our characters wake from a long sleep, terror builds slowly, culminating in a philosophically unsettling end. Here, a crew of four must contend with haunts in the isolation and alien danger of deep space.

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3 thoughts on “Little Badger Reviews: Horror Anthologies #1”

Oo, this looks like it has the potential to be a nice series. But I don’t think I see my two favorite anthologies on your floor. Lovecraft’s Legacy is a multi-author compilation I’d recommend to any Lovecraft fan (I read it one murky summer while visiting relatives in New England — perfect atmosphere). And then there’s Joe Hill’s 20th Century Ghosts, which make me wonder if he’ll end up being better at this than his dad. /end recommendations

Awesome recs, H. Anthe Davis – I definitely need to check these out! Hill’s anthology is on my “buy next” list … the title sounded awfully familiar, and after skimming its contents, I realized that I’ve read the short story “20th Century Ghosts” before, but the others are entirely new material. Now I need to read Lovecraft’s Legacy in the northeast mists to get the full experience. Does Connecticut count? 😀